1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for displaying thumbnails. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus and method for displaying thumbnails, which enables a user to easily search for and play thumbnails of moving image clips.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the number of files stored in a mobile communication terminal increases, time and effort required to search for a specified file increases as well. In order to reduce such time and effort, a technique of simultaneously displaying several thumbnail sized images, which refers to a still image, on a screen has been proposed. Also, a technique of simultaneously displaying several still images, which are obtained by capturing an initial frame of a moving image, has been proposed.
The number of thumbnails constituting such a still image list screen, i.e. a thumbnail list screen, is predetermined, and typically four or nine thumbnails are provided to constitute the still image. In this case, the thumbnails are successively displayed on the screen whenever a user shifts an indicator, or all thumbnails are simultaneously displayed on the screen. According to a conventional method for displaying thumbnails, a thumbnail list screen composed of the same number of thumbnails is displayed. However, in the case of a moving image, it is often difficult for a user to perceive intuitively the whole contents of the moving image only through a few of frames displayed on the screen, and it is inconvenient for a user to search for a desired moving image rapidly through the thumbnail list screen. For example, it may be difficult for a user to perceive the contents of a movie through viewing only one scene of the movie. Accordingly, in order to search for a specified moving image, a user should play moving images one by one by shifting an indicator and selecting a corresponding thumbnail.
As described above, in the case of thumbnails of moving image clips, there is no way for a user to confirm the contents of a moving image until an indicator is shifted and a corresponding thumbnail is selected. Also, since the user, in order to search for a specified moving image, should input not only a key for shifting the indicator, but also a playback key for playing the moving image for each thumbnail, the number of key inputs that the user should make increases, so that a lot of time and effort are required in searching for the specified moving image. According to the conventional method, only four or nine thumbnails are typically displayed on the screen. However, if it were possible to display a larger number of thumbnails on one thumbnail list screen, it would provide greater convenience to the user in searching for and selecting a desired still image or moving image. Accordingly, there is a need for a technology that enables a user to confirm thumbnails of moving image clips more easily.